DVD: Star Wars Blu-ray content revealed – let down in 3…2…1…

When I heard 2oth Century Fox had a special announcement regarding the upcoming Star Wars Blu-ray collection, I – and probably many other people – were hoping that the untouched, unaltered, original movies (Episodes IV – VI) would be included in the collection.

Though MayThe4th.StarWars.com was flooded with curious seekers (and as of release of this post) causing the site to come crashing down, we were able to get our hands on the release information for you. There are other things about to crash – the hopes and dreams of those who want to see the original high-def unaltered versions of the Star Wars movie where Han shoots first.

Yup, no untouched originals will be included in the set.

But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, take the jump to see everything included in the massive collection.

Press Release

Bring home the adventure and share Star Wars™ with your whole family – when STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA comes to Blu-ray Disc from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment! To be released beginning on September 12 internationally and on September 16 in North America, the nine-disc collection brings the wonder of the entire Saga direct to your living room, where you can revisit all of your favorite Star Wars moments – in gorgeous high definition and with pristine, 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Dive deeper into the universe with an unprecedented 40+ hours of special features, highlighted by never-before-seen content sourced from the Lucasfilm archives.

Special Features:

STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA ON BLU-RAY is presented in widescreen with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Special features include:

DISC ONE – STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and CrewDISC TWO – STAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and CrewDISC THREE – STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and CrewDISC FOUR – STAR WARS: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and CrewDISC FIVE – STAR WARS: EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and CrewDISC SIX – STAR WARS: EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and CrewDISC SEVEN – NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES I-III
Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and moreDISC EIGHT – NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES IV-VI
Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and moreDISC NINE – THE STAR WARS DOCUMENTARIES
NEW! Star Warriors (2007, Color, Apx. 84 Minutes) – Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures…these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.
NEW! A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Color, Apx. 25 Minutes) – George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.
NEW! Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) – The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more – and don’t miss “Weird Al” Yankovic’s one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace!
The Making of Star Wars (1977, Color, Apx. 49 Minutes) – Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas’ vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!
Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Go behind the scenes – and into the costumes – as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Dee Williams.
Anatomy of a Dewback (1997, Color, Apx. 26 Minutes) – See how some of the special effects in Star Wars became even more special two decades later! George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the Star Wars 1997 Special Edition update.
Star Wars Tech (2007, Color, Apx. 46 Minutes) – Exploring the technical aspects of Star Wars vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, Star Wars Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of Star Wars technology based on science as we know it today.

So, does this official announcement change your vote for this week’s Major Spoilers Poll of the Week (POW!)?

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The Author

Stephen Schleicher

Stephen Schleicher began his career writing for the Digital Media Online community of sites, including Digital Producer and Creative Mac covering all aspects of the digital content creation industry. He then moved on to consumer technology, and began the Coolness Roundup podcast. A writing fool, Stephen has freelanced for Sci-Fi Channel's Technology Blog, and Gizmodo. Still longing for the good ol' days, Stephen launched Major Spoilers in July 2006, because he is a glutton for punishment.

You can follow him on Twitter @MajorSpoilers and tell him your darkest secrets...

20 Comments

I own the original, unaltered Star Wars trilogy on LaserDisc. When I bought them in 2003, when Lucas said he would never release the original, unaltered trilogy on DVD. Then he released the special edition trilogy on DVD. I bought it. Then, he released the unaltered Trilogy on DVD. Frustrated, I bought it. Now we have Blu-ray. I will not buy this. I will wait for the time when we can have data force fed into our brains via enema. It will be the last thing I ask George Lucas to shove up my ass.

So they collected a bunch of documentaries that have already been around into the set and they think that’s big news? I saw “Star Wars Tech” when it aired and if I want to see it again, I can just buy a copy of it from Discovery. The other “new” documentaries are nothing special either since they have been out for public viewing in the past, they are just finally being put on DVD.

I personally, am going to pass on this collection and wait until they give me the original films.

Honestly, other than the “Han Shot First” thing, and inserting Hayden “Mannequin Skywalker” Christiansen into the end of Return of the Jedi, I’ve always been a fan of the extended versions. I enjoy seeing more of Cloud City, seeing Han and Jabba interact, and the extra little touches that the newer versions added. It’s probably because I maybe saw the original films once when I was a child, so instead of finding these new additions distracting, I find they just add to it.
Like I said on the poll, I also don’t currently own the Star Wars movies, so I’ll probably end up buying this one when I get a blu-ray player.

I find the clear difference in effects quality jarring at times. Like the Jabba and Han scene, Jabba looks out of place compared to everything around him because everything else in that scene is original footage from the 70’s.

I honestly believe that those of us waiting to see the original, theatrical releases of “Star Wars”, “Empire..” and “…Jedi” are holding on to a false hope. Lucas has said time and again that the extended / modified versions of those films are the definitive versions of those stories. He’s a big enough pompous ass that he’s not going to reverse his own proclamation ever.

I suspect we won’t see them until well after he croaks if ever.

As an addendum, if Lucas was so unhappy with the originals that he felt the need to muddle with them, why not just do as everyone’s doing these days and have himself a reboot. That way, we’ll get the added bonus, if he directs to laugh at Episodes 4-6 as much as we do at 1-3.

Honestly, I’m 38, these movies were mind blowing when they first came out. they don’t hold up well. I rather have the memories of playing Star Wars, than re-watch these movies and think “What was the big deal?”.

Okay, kiddies, I am going to bust your bubbles. The original trilogy no longer exists! Get over it! I used to own the deluxe version of the original trilogy on laserdisc and if you watched all the extras that came with it, George Lucas mentioned that when he went back to the vault to clean up the film for laserdisc transfer, portions of the original prints had deteriorated to the point where at least one complete scene was completely lost. You remember the scene in “Empire” on Degobah when Luke and R2D2 are climbing out of the crashed X-wing and R2D2 is swallowed and spat out by a swamp monster. In the original, when Luke helps R2 to his feet, Luke said “You’re lucky you don’t taste very good”. This scene was lost due to film deterioration, and Lucas was forced to splice in a rejected take where Luke said “You’re lucky you go out of there.” and this is the scene that is now that is in all the releases. It was sad to hear that a film that was released in 1977 had deteriorated in the vaults so quickly. What this means, boys and girls, is that the original theatrical versions no longer exist. And Lucas himself said that the “enhanced versions” are closer to what he intended to make back in 1977. So…. get over it. And remember, the Star Wars universe is George Lucas’ creation, not yours. If you don’t like what he’s doing, then just don’t buy it. As for me, I will pass on the new set, only because I don’t have a Blu-Ray player yet and there’s nothing wrong with my DVD versions – and I’ve seen most of those extra documentaries before.
And just to clue all you dimwits who keep complaining that the new trilogy isn’t as good as the original trilogy and thus “don’t exist” in your reality. How long has it been since you went back and watched the original trilogy? Honey, it just ain’t THAT good. It’s good, but it ain’t THAT good and aren’t any better than the new trilogy. Let’s face it. Hope was better than any sci-fi we’d seen in the theaters in decades, but it ain’t “Gone with the Wind”. Empire is full of discontinuities and plot holes you could drive a space cruiser through them. Return has Ewoks and had such a hack editing job that every time Lucas revisits the film, he changes the bloody ending. So, waaaah, Lucas didn’t make the films you wanted him to make when he did the new trilogy. It’s his sand box, he can pee in it if he wants to.

I apologize for the dimwit comment. I was out of line. I just don’t see what was so horrible about the new trilogy. Maybe it’s just a “These are the trilogies you’re looking for” thing? Fantastic Special effects? Check. Lots of Droids? Check. Lots of space ships? Check. Lots of light saber battles? Check. Stirring Music? Check. Cliched, hackneyed story largely ripped off from Joseph Campbell’s Hero Quest philosophies? Check. Unknown actors hamming it up like little Shatners? Check. Very Annoying Sidekicks? Check. Seems to me like the new trilogy is just like the original trilogy.

Now, if you want to take George Lucas to task for inflicting Ewoks and Jar-Jar Binks onto his adoring public, then I would be in complete agreement with you. I think, deep down inside, George Lucas must have a mean streak a mile wide, and secretly hates his fans. Star Wars Christmas Special! Need I say more?